The Front Row with MARK NELKE Dec. 25, 2011

It wasn't all that long ago that fans of the University of Oregon football team were just happy to see the Ducks in a bowl game - any bowl game.

The bar has been raised in recent years, with Oregon playing in the national championship game last season.

A couple losses this year ended their hopes of returning to the national title game, but the Ducks - who include 2007 Lake City High graduates Carson York and Brandon Hanna - will be playing in their third BCS game in three seasons on Jan. 2, when Oregon plays Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl - the Ducks' second trip to Pasadena in three years.

"I think it's an interesting commentary on the state of football at the University of Oregon - that we've got to the point where losing one game and fans and people are starting to say that this season's a loss, that you don't have a chance at the national championship anymore," said York, a three-year starter on the offensive line at left guard.

"There were people on the radio (after the loss to LSU in the season opener) saying next year's going to be the year - we're still in the Rose Bowl," he added with a laugh. "Before we went (two years ago), the last time Oregon had been in the Rose Bowl was in 1994 and (before that, 1957) ... but I think we'd rather have that problem than having to play Boise State in the Vegas Bowl (as Arizona State did) and having to fight our way back up in the conference."

YORK, a 6-foot-5, 292-pound junior, has started all 13 games this year, and 35 in his career for the Ducks (11-2).

Hanna (6-2, 240), a senior, has played in 35 games in his Oregon career, with two starts. After coming in as a linebacker, he has played as basically a standup defensive end his last two seasons.

This year, he has an interception, two sacks and three fumble recoveries, one of them coming against Andrew Luck and Stanford that helped the Ducks start to pull away.

“I think I’ve done a lot of growing up,” Hanna said of his time in Eugene. “Everyone that ends up coming to a big school, in high school they were the man. And coming here, it took me a while to break into the lineup, get some playing time, get a chance to start a couple of games, so I think it’s really humbled me, and taught me the value of hard work and sticking with what you’re doing. Because there were plenty of times early in my career that I could have transferred or done something else, but I chose to stick with it, and it’s paid off.”

York has helped pave the way for an Oregon offense that is sixth in the nation in total offense (515.23 yards per game) and fifth in rushing offense (295.69).

“Personally, it’s been a little different year for me,” York said, noting his first two years, the older players were the leaders on the offensive line. Now, he’s one of those older players. “It was my opportunity to step up, along with some other guys, and show the other guys how business gets taken care of.”

WHEN LAST we checked in with our Oregon T-Wolves, they were getting ready to head to Arizona to play Auburn in the national championship game last year. The Ducks fell to Cam Newton and the Tigers 22-19 on a last-second field goal.

Hanna said it probably took him until last summer to completely get over that game.

“I’m not sure any of us will ever really shake that off,” York said. “You don’t get many times in your life to be crowned the absolute best at anything.”

Classes were in session in Eugene during the week leading up to that game, and the Ducks weren’t free from studying just because they were away from campus. A giant tent was set up in the parking lot where the team stayed.

“They brought tutors and advisers, and we had computers with wireless Internet set up, they had our assignments sent to us ahead of time, so we worked on what we had to do,” said Hanna, who added the tent “was massive — it looked like a circus tent.”

York, who delayed his enrollment at Oregon until winter 2008 following shoulder surgery, then redshirted that fall, already graduated last spring with a bachelor of science in journalism and communications, with a focus on advertising. He’s working on a master’s in the advertising field now, and has one more year of football eligibility remaining.

Unless, as he jokes, “someone is dumb enough to pay me to play football,” York said after college he would like to go into the advertising field, perhaps helping a company build its brand.

York, who has a 3.76 GPA, was named a second-team academic All-America this year by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Hanna, who redshirted in 2007, graduated in August with a degree in economics. He spent the fall doing an internship with a financial services company in Eugene. After his Duck career is over in a couple of weeks, Hanna said he’ll decide whether to pursue an MBA or enter the working world.

HANNA AND YORK stress that Oregon’s success comes from hard work and teamwork, not from glitz. As York pointed out, Oregon had just one player drafted last year — Miami, for example, had eight and finished 7-6.

“We have this national perception of being this flashy, unorthodox, Nike U sort of thing, but at least the way we approach things, we’re really blue collar,” York said. “I’m not sure the uniforms fit the mentality around here but at least they usually look pretty good. We win games on working hard, and are just a blue-collar group of guys. When we bring recruits in, if the kids are just here because of the jerseys and the facilities, they (coaches) don’t necessarily want them around here.”

Hanna agreed.

“Especially with the national perception of Oregon, the Nike brand and that we have all these cool uniforms and get all this cool stuff, we’re just fast, athletic guys ... and I think everybody sees that, and the facilities, and that’s all they really know, until they get here and get in the program and figure out that it’s not about all that stuff,” Hanna said. “It’s how we work every single day. And I really do believe we work harder than anybody else in the country, and that’s why we’ve been able to have the success we’ve had. If you don’t fit into the culture around here, you’re not going to be around here very long.”

Added York: “Now we’re beginning to recruit some genuine talent and get some old farts like me out of here. It’ll be scary what he (Ducks coach Chip Kelly) can do in the next couple of years with real talent.”

THIS WILL be York’s third start in a bowl game.

“I want to win one, though,” York said.

Oregon lost to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl two years ago.

Hanna, as a redshirt in 2007, was on the sidelines when Oregon beat South Florida in the Sun Bowl. He suited up, but did not play, in 2008 when the Ducks beat Oklahoma State in the Holiday Bowl.

So, like York, Hanna is still looking to play in a winning bowl game.

“I think that’s about the only thing I’ve got left to accomplish here,” he said on the eve of his final college football game. “I definitely made the right choice (coming to Oregon). I wouldn’t change anything about my time here.”

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.